Twine-holder



R. NIGOL, Jr.

TWINE HOLDER.

(No Model.)

8 m l 1 v m j e H H J d e t n 8 u aw D UNITED, STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

ROBERT NIGOL, JR, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

TWINE-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,385, dated June 12, 3.888.

Application filed December27, 18 8?. Serial No. 259,351. (No model.)

To all zuhmw it may concern: I Be it known that I, ROBERT Nioon, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Chi- I cago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Twine-Holders, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the class of devices commonly employed in merchandising establishments as receptacles for the twine in balls used for tying packages; and it relates more particularly to an improvement in the kind of device of the class mentioned adapted to be suspended to extend into position where ready access may be had to the loose end of the twine which projects from the receptacle.

The more common construction of twineholder of the kind last referred to is that of a transversely-divided hollow body, usually in the form, orsubstantiallyin the form, of ahollow sphere the two separate halves or parts of which are held together by clamping, screwing, or the like,whereby they are separable to permit the insertion of a ball of twine, and ad justable one upon the other to connect them, and thus form the desired closed twine'receptacle, through the lower part of which a loose end of the ball is caused normally to extend. The objection to the general form of twineholder of which that described is an example consists in the necessity, incidental to the construction, of manipulating it with both hands to Separate the parts when it is desired to open the device for the insertion of the twine and close it again after said insertion, operations which are attended with some difficulty and inconvenience. Another, and perhaps the principal, objection is that the lower part is liable to accidental separation from the upper when the device is suspended and may do damage in falling.

The object of my improvement is to materially lessen the difficulty and render convert ient the operations of opening and closing twine-holders and overcome the other objection referred to by adapting them while suspended to close by their own weight and open by raising them, whereby the tension of their flexible medium of suspension is slackened to permit the parts to separate.

In the drawings, Figure 1 presents a twineholder of my improved construction in elevation, suspended by a cord, and shows by dotted lines a modification and the projecting end of a ball of twine. (Not shown.) Fig. 2 pre sents the same as Fig. 1, but shows the twine holder containing a ball of twine as opened by being raised by hand to slacken the tension of the suspension-cord and permit the hinged parts to spread asunder upon the hinge; and Fig. 3 shows a bottom end view of the twine-holder provided with a tension-device detail for the free projecting end of the ball of twine.

A is the twine-holder,which I prefer to make of metal, though other material-such as wood, ivory, and the lil e-1nay be used, but is not so desirable.

\Vhile I do not limit myself to any particular form for the device, at least in the sense that the limitation to form shall not be more than that the device must be hollow to afford a receptacle and be constructed in parts, I prefer the shape of a sphere or prolate spheroid, as illustrated, comprising two parts or hemispherical portions, 1' and 1-, having open ings in them of different designs for purposes of ornament and to remove superfluous material. At corresponding ends the parts '1' and r are provided, respectively, with laterallyperforated lugs q and q, the perforations in which coincide when the ends provided with the lugs are adjusted together, and a rivet, p, is passed through the lugs to hold the two parts of the device together by a pivotal or hinged joint formed by the perforated lugs and rivet. Any other form of hinged joint than that shown and described which will answer the purpose is included as within my invention. The end of the part 1' opposite that provided with the in g g has an eye, 0, provided with a horizontal lip, 0, extending from near its base, and the adjacent end of the part a" has an eye, a, coincident with the eye 0 and preferably bent toward the latter, as shown, to extend to the line of division of the parts r and r.

G is the cord or other flexible medium of suspension,whioh may be knotted at one end,

as shown at x, and passed from its opposite end through both eyes 0 and it, when the knot :0 forms a stop at the eye 0 (though the stop may obviously be otherwise provided) and the op posite end is fastened, as by means of a screweye, m, secured to an object from which it is desired to suspend the twine-holder. WVhen thus suspended, the weight of the twine-h older, which maintains the cord 0 taut, closes the device by bringing the parts 0- and r together, when the lip 0 extends, for the usual purpose of such a device, over the edge of the part 7'. The same end will be subserved if the cord O 10 be passed through both eyes 0 and n and the twine-holder be suspended from opposite ends of the cord, as indicated by means of dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2, or in any analogous manner. In any case the twine-holder is maintained closed by its own weight, is opened by the operation, of the parts i" and T when lifted, as indicated in Fig. 2, to permit readily the insertion of aball of twine, B, and again closed automatically by falling when released.

To afford a slight resistance to the unwinding operation when the projecting endZof the ball B is drawn out to produce a length sufficient for tying, and thereby prevent the unwinding of a greater length of the twine than 2 is required, I provide a tension device comprising two eyes, 70 and It, on the lower end of the twine-holder at opposite sides of and transverse to the lugs q and q, and cause the projecting end lot" the twine to pass through both eyes, whereby the friction of the twine in the latter and against the surface of the device over which it passes affords the desired degree of resistance.

While I prefer for obvious reasons to make my improved device in two parts, it is within the'spirit of my invention to make it inmore than two parts hinged together to operate in the manner described.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A twine-holder comprising, in combination, a hollow body formed in parts 1' and r, hinged together at corresponding ends, an eye on one of the said parts near the opposite end, and a suspension-cord, or the like, 0, connected to the other of the said parts and passed through the said eye, whereby when the holder is suspended on the cord 0 it is closed by its own weight on the suspension-cord and opens by raising it to relax the suspension'cord, sub- 5c stantially as described.

2. A twine-holder comprising, in combination, a hollow body formed in parts '1' and r, hinged together at corresponding ends and provided with eyes 0 and it near the opposite 5 ends, and a suspensioircord, or the like, 0, extending tl'rrough the said eyes, whereby when the holder is suspended on the cord 0 it is closed by its own weight on the suspensioncord, and opens by raising it to relax the sus- 6o pensioucord, substantially as described.

ROBERT NICOL, JR.

In presence of J. \V. DYRENFORTH, CHAS. E. GORTON. 

